LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. # 



| FORCE COLLECTION.] ^ 

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t UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, f 



THE WAY 



TO 

BLESS AND SAVE OUR COUNTRY: 



A SERMON, 



PREACHED IN PHILADELPHIA, AT THE REQUEST OF THE 
AMERICAN SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION, 



MAY 23, 1831. 



BY HEMAN HUMPHREY, D. D. 

President of Amherst (Mass.) College. 




AMERICAN SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION. 
PHILADELPHIA: 

NO. 146 CHESNTJT STREET. 

1831. ij 



THE 

WAY TO BLESS AND SAVE OUR COUNTRY. 



" Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he 
is old he will not depart from it." — Proverbs xxii. 6. 

Hardly any thing, I believe, is more difficult, than to in- 
corporate the conviction with our settled habits of thinking 
and acting, that the most common and familiar truths are 
often the most important. They are like household faces 
and voices, which strike us the less, for having been with 
us from our childhood. It costs us an effort to enter into the 
spirit of trite proverbs and every-day quotations from any 
writer, however fraught with wisdom, either human or di- 
vine. To say, for the thousandth time — 

" 5 Tis education forms the common mind, • 
Just as the twig is bent the tree 's inclined," 

is to compress volumes into a single couplet ; and is no less 
true than it was when the felicitous comparison first occurred 
to the poet's mind ; and yet, how threadbare and uninter- 
esting has it become. How few, of all the thousands who 
receive its indelible stamp in the nursery, ever stop to think 
of its mighty practical import. 

Thus it is, I apprehend, with that divine aphorism which 
I have chosen for my text, Train up a child in the way he 
should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. 
What words were ever more fitly spoken by mortal lips ; and 
yet have these " apples of gold in pictures of silver," so long 
been familiar to our eyes, that we little think of their in- 
trinsic and inestimable value. Can we spend the present 



4 



THE WAY TO BLESS AND 



hour more profitably, than in subjecting them to a minute 
and careful examination ? 

As every science and course of instruction depends, essen- 
tially, upon a few elementary principles, and that of Chris- 
tian education as much as any other, so a familiar acquaint- 
ance with these principles is essential. Before we undertake 
to teach, it is extremely important that we understand the 
primary laws of thought and feeling : and that we have an 
intimate acquaintance with the elements which we are to 
arrange and combine, so as to strengthen every faculty, and 
to secure the most perfect developement of symmetry and 
beauty. And, whatever our ultimate object may be, we 
must begin at the beginning. We must commence with the 
simplest combinations, either of characters, substances, 
thoughts, or affections. This holds true, whether we would 
construct the most ordinary machine, or measure the height 
and magnitude of the stars : — whether we would unlock the 
stores of literature in a foreign language, or fathom the 
deepest and sweetest wells of our own ; — whether, in short, 
We would, in any way, concentrate and direct the mighty 
energies either of matter, or of mind. He who should wait 
for his son to understand Paradise Lost, before he would 
teach him the first lesson in two letters; or, who should at- 
tempt to bend an oak of fifty circles, would be about as wise, 
and about as successful, as the parent who should wholly 
neglect the religious instruction of his children in their ten- 
der years, and then undertake to change their habits, and 
mould their hearts, in the strong maturity of passion and ap- 
petite. We must begin the work early, or we shall " labour 
in vain, and spend our strength for nought and in vain." 

The elements of things never change. The laws both of 
matter and mind are immutable. What they were three thou- 
sand years ago, they were yesterday, and always will be. 
The same intellectual and moral cultivation which was needful 
then, is required now. The same motion which swayed the 



SAVE OUR COUNTRY. 



5 



reason and the conscience before the Christian era, or before 
the flood, would, in like circumstances, sway it still. And 
the same course of instruction and discipline which formed 
a good moral and religious character in the time of Solomon, 
would produce similar results at any other time. If it was 
then true, that children trained up in the right way, would 
not depart from it, it is still true, and will be in every coming 
age. For the young mind and the young heart are every 
where alike. Children are just what they always have been. 
They have the same constitution ; the same physical, intel- 
lectual, and moral susceptibilities; the same bias to evil; 
the same plastic nature ; and they may, by the blessing of 
God, on early and pious training, be moulded into the same 
virtuous habits. 

And what is true of one child, at any given time, is true 
of a thousand, or a million. The meaning of the text, ob- 
viously, is not, train up this child, or that child, but train up 
any child in the way he should go, and when he is old he 
will not depart from it. Here and there a mournful excep- 
tion there possibly may be. One child in an age, or a 
country, thus piously educated, might possibly bring down a 
father's gray hairs with sorrow to the grave ; but if the earth 
should consent to bear one such reprobate upon a thousand 
leagues of its surface, the general rule would not be af- 
fected. 

It becomes extremely interesting, therefore, to inquire, 

What it is to train up a child in the way he should go ? 

How it is that such training forms a permanently virtuous 
and pious character ? And, 

How the whole youthful population of our country may be 
thus piously educated ? 

I. What is it to train up a child in the way he should go? 
Here a few preliminary observations will, if I mistake not* 
lead to a clear and satisfactory answer. The elements, or 
first principles of education, and indeed of all science, and 

a2 



6 



THE WAY TO BLESS AND 



all things, are extremely simple. We know, for example, 
that the sublime, and almost incredible discoveries of modern 
astronomy, are based upon numbers, lines, and angles, which 
are familiar to a little child. How few and simple, too, are 
the substances which constitute this great globe, with all its 
solid ground and restless waters ; its smothered fires and 
teeming population ! The philosophy of mind, so wonderful, 
so illimitable, so godlike — what are its elements but the sim- 
plest thoughts and perceptions imaginable ! And the science 
of morals, reaching, as it does, from earth to heaven, from 
the lowly cottage up to the " throne of God and the Lamb," 
on what does it rest, but the simple principle of love ! 

One of the most striking characteristics of the present age 
is simplification. Almost all our improvements in mechanics, 
in the arts, in the use of natural agents, and in the science 
of education, consist in the discovery and application of 
more simple principles than had before been observed. 
Hardly a month passes without some new invention, or dis- 
covery, by which power is gained, or dispensed with ; and 
by which human labour is rendered at once more perfect, and 
more productive. And who can look at these great benevo- 
lent institutions, which are the glory of the present age, 
without being struck with the simplicity of their principles ; 
with the unparalleled extent and efficiency of their opera- 
tions? How much more is done to enlighten and save man- 
kind, than the world ever dreamed of, till the current century, 
and with how little comparative cost. It is sufficient, here, 
just to name the American Bible Society, the American Tract 
Society, and the American Sunday School Union, which now 
holds its seventh and brightest anniversary. Who would 
have believed, thirty years ago, that so many denominations 
of Christians could ever be brought to meet on common 
ground, in any such great Society ; or that so many millions 
of people could be furnished with the means of improvement 
in knowledge and piety, with so much ease, and so little 



SAVE OUR COUNTRY. 



7 



expence 1 Verily, " it is the Lord's doing, and it is marvel- 
lous in our eyes." 

But while we speak of these and other astonishing im- 
provements, in so many departments of Christian benevolence, 
let us not credit ourselves with inventions which are as old 
as the Bible itself. A little reflection will be sufficient to 
convince any man, that we have discovered no new principle 
in morals, or religion — in the spread of the gospel, or in 
Christian education. In all our plans for doing good, we are 
only approximating to the divine simplicity of that perfect 
compend, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy 
neighbour as thyself." Our Foreign and Home Missionary 
Societies, what are they doing, but in simple obedience to 
the command, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gos- 
pel to every creature ? All our Bible and Tract Societies, 
what are they employed about, but just scattering abroad 
those leaves of the tree of life, " which are for the healing of 
the nations ?" And this great and prosperous Union, what 
is it doing, what can it ever do more than is implied in these 
few monosyllables, Train up a child in the way he should go ? 
As there never was a more simple plan thought of for reno- 
vating the world, so none could be more comprehensive, or 
effectual. Let it once be thoroughly tried, in any state or na- 
tion, with a humble reliance on the grace of God ; that is, 
let every child be trained up from infancy in the right way, 
and how wonderful would be the moral transformation in the 
space of forty years ! Let the same thing be done every 
where, and how soon would there be " new heavens and a 
new earth ?" 

What then is it to train up a child in the way he should 
go? The general import of the term is perfectly obvious. 
To train, is to draw from act to act, by a skilful influence — 
to form to any practice by exercise — to invite, allure, edu- 
cate, bring up ; or, as it is in the margin of the text, to 



8 



THE WAY TO BLESS AND 



catechise. Thus, a young horse, or bullock, is trained, when 
he is gradually brought under subjection to his master, or 
when he is made docile, trusty, and useful. A soldier is 
trained for active service, when he is taught the art of war 
by an experienced officer, and is by degrees inured to hard- 
ships and dangers. 

A child is trained, when, instead of being left to grow up 
in ignorance, and follow his own inclinations, he is brought 
under the influence of instruction and persuasion; of mental 
and moral discipline. And he is trained up in the way he 
should go, when he receives a pious education, commencing 
with the dawn of intellect, and continued till his character 
is formed and settled ; — when his wayward propensities are 
watched and checked in their earliest manifestations ; — when 
his opening mind is carefully imbued with moral and reli- 
gious truth ; — when his conscience is exercised to a quick 
discernment of right and wrong ; — when his heart is made 
habitually to feel the presence of high and holy motives ; — 
when the budding of every kindly affection is cherished by 
the breath of prayer ; and when, in fine, virtuous habits ol 
thought, of feeling, and cf action, are gradually consolidated 
into great and abiding moral principles. 

If the process is not begun early ; if any one thing is neg 
lected ; if the parent, or other religious teacher, is incom- 
petent, or unfaithful ; if the system of religious education is 
not carried out ; if, in religion, any aliment but the " sincere 
milk of the word," is offered and received ; and if the best 
instructions are counteracted by bad examples in the family, 
or in the school, then the child is not trained up in the way 
he should go. He may be taught to read ever so early ; he 
may be put under the tuition of the ablest masters, in every 
branch of science and literature ; he may outstrip all his 
companions in mental discipline and attainments ; he may, 
in a popular sense, receive a finished education, and yet not 
be educated at all in the sense of my text. " The fear of 



SAVE OUR COUNTRY. 



9 



the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." Whatever other 
advantages, any child may enjoy, it is only when he is treated 
as a moral and accountable being ; it is only when the truths 
of the Bible are laid at the foundation of all his attainments ; 
it is only when he is taught " to fear God and keep his com- 
mandments," that he is trained up in the way he should go. 
It is a thorough Christian education alone, which can secure 
our children from vice and ruin ; which can guide their feet 
in " the ways of pleasantness and the paths of peace." But, 
II. How is it that such an education forms a permanently 
virtuous and pious character 1 There is something in the 
power of habit, over all our faculties, whether bodily, intel- 
lectual, or moral, which I do not pretend to comprehend, and 
which I shall not therefore attempt to explain. The facts 
in the case are undeniable. Nothing is better settled than 
that the frequent repetition of any physical art, or mental 
process, begets an aptitude for the same thing, which it is 
extremely difficult to overcome. The unconquerable des- 
potism of bad habits is proverbial. " Can the Ethiopian 
change his skin, or the leopard his spots, then may ye also 
do good, that are accustomed to do evil." The same is true 
of good and virtuous habits, though not in so high a degree. 
I am far from believing, that there are any blank leaves in 
the book of human nature, even at the beginning of it. Many 
a dark and crooked line appears upon the opening of the 
very first page. But still there is room to write the law of 
God upon it, and by the use of proper means, the law of sin 
may be gradually obliterated. What I mean to say is this. 
God has so made us, such is the constitution of the human 
mind, (notwithstanding the terrible blot of innate depravity, 
which nothing but his Spirit can ever wipe out,) that, under 
suitable instruction, a virtuous character may be formed, 
which will stand the shock, at least of ordinary temptations. 
This is what I call the natural effect of right training upon 
the mind ; and in this view of the subject, I am borne out by 



10 



THE WAY TO BLESS AND 



a great many striking analogies. The world is full of them. 
While the clay is soft, you can mould it into what form you 
choose. You bend the sapling of a year's growth with per- 
fect ease ; and in becoming a great tree, it most obediently 
follows the direction which your finger gave it half a century 
ago. Wherever a stream first begins to flow, there it cuts a 
channel for itself, and there it is likely to flow for ever. And 
so it is with the infant mind. Fir3t impressions are deep and 
permanent. Every early bias has a prodigious influence upon 
the future character. When these biases are in a right di- 
rection, they grow and ripen into good habits; and the man 
thenceforth travels on in the path of rectitude and happiness. 

But while I lay so much stress upon the natural force of a 
religious education, I am fully aware, that this can never be 
our chief reliance. " The carnal mind is enmity against 
God." It is so in our children at the tenderest age. " They 
go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies." The 
most pious education can never reconcile them to God. It 
is the Holy Spirit, alone, which can " put his law in their 
inward parts, and write it in their hearts." This is the only 
perfect security. Now, whether every child in the land 
would be savingly converted, if all were trained up in the 
right way, I do not certainly know ; but I feel quite sure, 
that nobody can prove the contrary. Is it too much to affirm 
that the experiment of what, by the blessing of God, might 
be accomplished in this way, has never yet been tried, even 
upon a small scale 1 How many children in the world, think 
ye, have ever yet received as good a Christian education as 
it is possible to give ? What if your children, or mine, have 
grown up under our care without being born again? What 
does this prove, but our own unfaithfulness ? Is God slack 
concerning his promises ? Is not the time coming, when all 
shall know him from the least to the greatest ? And who can 
tell, but that during the millennium, every child will be con- 
verted, either in its mother's arms, or in the Sabbath-school. 



SAVE OUR COUNTRY* 



11 



But however this may be, no one who believes the word 
of God, or gives any heed to the testimony of experience 
and observation, will question the vast importance of early 
religious instruction. An insatiable and prying curiosity 
may exhaust itself in trying to explain how it is, that early 
training produces such mighty results; and "some man" 
may, if he chooses, declare that he will never believe what 
he cannot comprehend : but with the text and the facts be- 
fore us, the path of duty is perfectly plain. We are just as 
much bound and encouraged to co-operate in promoting the 
great cause of Christian education, as if we could see every 
secret step of the process by which virtuous and pious habits 
are formed. We come now to inquire, 

III. How, or by what means the whole youthful popula- 
tion of our country, may be trained up in the way they should 
go ? Is such a thing practicable ? Is it not too much for 
Christian philanthropy, with all her wealth, and all her in- 
fluence, and all her faith, and all her holy yearnings, to at- 
tempt, or hope for ? Certainly it is not too much. " All things 
are possible to him that believeth." There is obviously one 
way in which the blessings of religious education might be 
extended to every family in the United States, without the 
least difficulty, were the natural guardians of the young 
qualified for the responsible and endearing relations which 
they sustain. It undoubtedly devolves upon parents, first 
and chiefly, to train up their children in the way they should 
go ; to begin the work at early dawn, and to carry it forward 
with many prayers, till " Christ be formed in them the hope 
of glory." Were fathers and mothers all enlightened and 
devoted Christians, (as they ought to be,) no child would be 
neglected. Under the cultivation which this universal piety 
would ensure, a transforming power would operate silently, 
but mightily, upon all the young millions of our country's 
hopes. Even then, "helps" might, no doubt, be highly use- 
ful. Parents might need assistance in carrying forward to 



18 



THE WAY TO BLESS AIS'D 



maturity the best systems of religious education. Many cer- 
tainly would. 

But how much more is foreign aid called for, in the exist- 
ing state of things. What an awful dearth of piety is there, 
at the head of more than a million and a half of American 
families ! From this q uarter, the::, a religions indue :::e up en 
all who are now coming forward into life, with the destinies 
of the nation in their hands, is hopeless. Not one third part 
of them will ever be brought up in the nurture and admoni- 
tion of the Lord, by those whc Must they 
then be left to grow up in ignorance and sin, and to pull 
down the pillars of the state upon their devoted heads 1 You 
promptly answer, No. Instant, and loud voices, from every 
quarter of this great and prosperous city, answer, No ! All 
the managers, and auxiliaries, and agents, and depositories, 
and friends of this heaven-bom Union, answer, No ! All 
the Sabbath -school libraries in the land, and more than sixty 
thousand teachers, answer, no ! And soon will the whole 
American Church, with a voice like the sound of many 
waters , an s w e r . NO! 

Here, in this blessed Union of hearts and hands, of coun- 
sels and prayers — in this flowing together of the waters of 
life from so many different sanctuaries. I see a pledge that 
every child in the city and the country, on the sea-board and 
by the great rivers of the west, shall be sought out. and have 
the opportunity of being instructed " in the right way of the 
Lord." Did the time permit, and were it necessary. I might 
here trace the history of this blessed institution, from its 
precarious infancy to the lifting up of its head among the 
stars. I might speak of its early struggles, and the recent, 
triumphs of its faith and its works — of the destitute regions 
which it has explored — of the thrilling appeals which have 
gone forth from the fulness of its heart — of the four hundred 
and fifty thousand children now in its schools — of the vast 
multitude of books which it has published — of the incalcu- 



save our cor^mr. 



13 



lable amount of good which it has already accomplished, 
and of its noble resolution, at the last anniversary, to supply 
the Valley of the Mississippi with Sabbath-schools in two 
years. 

But it as little needs the eulogy as the defence of my feeble 
voice. It has excited the admiration, and kindled the elo- 
quence of the statesman, as well as the divine. Mightier 
voices never thundered in our National Capitol, than have 
spoken its praises. Wherever its name is mentioned, the 
distinctions of party and sect are at once forgotten ; and on 
a memorable, recent occasion, we have seen " the north give 
up, while the south kept not back." And then it was that 
the wrestling of the giants gave place to exalted moral rea- 
sonings, and mutual congratulations. But what is more than 
all, the character and deeds of this blessed Union are " writ- 
ten, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God ; not 
in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart." Its re- 
cord is on high. Its all-comprehensive and sweet benevo- 
lence is reflected from nearly half a million of happy faces 
every Sabbath day, and gratefully acknowledged by as many 
tongues. What it needs, is not the approving testimony of 
a humble individual, from the place which I now occupy, but 
the zealous co-operation of all the friends of religion, and of 
our free institutions ; and above all, the continued smiles of 
Heaven upon its counsels and its labours. 

I shall therefore just glance at the principles of the Union ; 
its admirable adaptation to the religious wants of our coun- 
try, and the genius of our government ; and then press the 
duty of sustaining it, and of extending its operations upon 
every class of American citizens. It is the glory of this in- 
stitution, that it belongs to no religious party, or sect. Here 
all minor differences of opinion are merged in the acknow- 
ledged principles of a common faith, and yet so as to leave 
each denomination at full liberty to inculcate its distinctive 
views upon all the children of its connection. Thus, while 



14 



THE WAY TO BLESS AND 



each tribe in our Israel retains its own standard, all the tribes 
are represented in the blended studding of one common 
breastplate ; and all move on together under His banner, 
" who was with the church in the wilderness." The objects 
of the Union, as expressed in the first article of the Consti- 
tution, are, " To concentrate the efforts of Sabbath-school 
societies in different sections of our country — to strengthen 
the hands of the friends of religious instruction on the Lord', 
day — to disseminate useful information; circulate moral an(? 
religious publications in every part of the land ; and to en- 
deavour to plant a Sunday-school wherever there is a popu- 
lation." These objects are worthy of that enlightened be- 
nevolence which founded this noble institution, and cannot 
fail of securing the approbation of every Christian, and every 
patriot. The obvious design of the system is, to pre-occupy 
the infant mind, throughout this great republic, with the 
principles of virtue and piety — to sow the good seed, and 
keep out the tares — to teach all the rising millions of a 
mighty empire, as they come up successively into life, their 
relations to God, their high duties, and their immortal des- 
tiny. It is, to enlighten the understanding and educate the 
heart — to make virtuous and happy families and neighbour- 
hoods — to make good men and good citizens — good rulers — 
good and loyal subjects of the king of heaven ; and, as a 
matter of course, good and peaceable subjects of a repub- 
lican government. The design of the American Sunday- 
School Union is, to send abroad a moral power which shall 
quench all the remaining fires of intemperance, and lock up 
every gaming-house, and theatre, and brothel ; and trans- 
form the whole army of drunkards and paupers into useful 
and independent members of society. It is, as soon as pos- 
sible, to tear up every criminal docket, and stop all profane 
swearing, slander, and cheating. It is, to rescue the Sab- 
bath from every kind of profanation, and to inculcate upon 
the young, every truth, and every duty, that is found in the 



SAVE OUR COUNTRY. 



Bible. The grand design of this institution, in short, is, to 
empty the prisons and fill the churches; to expel misery and 
crime in every form from the land ; to spread pure and un- 
defined religion over all the east, and west, and north, and 
south ; and to train up our whole population for the kingdom 
of heaven. Such is the undisguised, the godlike design of 
the American Sunday School Union. 

And need I stop to show how admirably, how perfectly, it 
is adapted to the wants of our country, and the character of 
our free institutions 1 Whose soul does not kindle within 
him, when he thinks of what has already been done by this 
institution, and of what it is now doing in every corner of 
the land ? — How it seeks out the poor and the ignorant, and 
by bringing them together every week within the Sabbath- 
school, with children of better circumstances, introduces 
them into a new world of thought, and feeling, and moral 
influence. How it everywhere offers to adopt the fatherless, 
and to assist the widow in training up her family for useful- 
ness, and for glory. How its instructions " drop as the rain, 
and distil as the dew; as the small rain upon the tender 
herb, and as the showers upon the grass." . How like an an- 
gel of mercy, it visits where the Bible is scarcely known, 
and no morning or evening sacrifice goes up, and no pious 
counsel ever flows from parental lips ; and how it allures the 
little strangers to God whom it finds in these abodes of mo- 
ral death, and turns their feet into the path of life. 

Now, is any thing wanting, but just to extend the blessings 
of this divine charity, and establish an efficient Sabbath- 
school wherever there are children to be trained up in the 
way they should go? Would not the other means of grace 
and salvation follow almost of course ? The Bible would cer- 
tainly be there ; nor would it be in the power of the prince 
of darkness himself to keep out the heralds of the cross. 
No village, or scattered settlement, that is once brought 
under the heavenly influence of faithful Sabbath-school 



16 



THE WAY TO BLESS AND 



instruction, will ever consent to live without a preached 
gospel. 

Need I speak of the cheapness of this system of religious 
education ? When once fairly introduced, how trifling is the 
expence. Who, of all the sixty thousand teachers now em- 
ployed, desires, or would consent to receive any pecuniary 
compensation ? Which of them does not reap a rich reward 
in his own improvement, and in the pleasure of doing good 1 
Never was so much labour performed so cheerfully, so faith- 
fully, and so productively, for nothing. The contingent ex- 
pences of so great an institution must indeed be large. So 
vast a territory as ours cannot be explored and organized but 
by the employment of many agents ; and Sabbath-school 
libraries cost something. But who, in the last age, would 
have believed it possible to purchase as much entertaining 
and useful reading for an hundred dollars, as can now be had 
for thirty ? I confess that I am astonished when I look into 
your depository, and ask the prices of your publications. 
That congregation, or settlement, must be poor indeed, 
which cannot afford to procure a handsome library. 

Of the happy adaptation of this wonder-working system to 
the genius of our free institutions, but little need be said. It 
must strike the eye and the heart of every enlightened patriot, 
at a glance. Our government is not a government of force, but 
of influence. Its only sure basis is the virtue and piety of 
the people. In the absence of these, should Heaven in its 
wrath ever visit us with so dark a day, it must inevitably fall. 
When it is gone, you may plant the soil on which it stood 
with swords and bayonets ; you may compel a degenerate 
race to cringe at the foot of a throne ; and you may proudly 
construct the monuments of national servitude, with cannon 
upon the battle field; but without the living principle of 
moral rectitude, in the mass of the people, no country can 
long be free and happy. 

Now, the American Sunday School Union offers to provide 



SAVE OUR COUNTRY. 



IT 



the very security which is wanted, by carrying the blessings of 
religious education into every family ; by planting the seeds 
of piety in every tender mind ; by extending its adoption to 
every abode of moral orphanage ; and by giving its pledge, 
that, with God's blessing, the whole rising intellect and heart 
of our country shall be taught to fear God, and keep his com- 
mandments. This is what the wisest and best of our states- 
men, as well as ministers of the gospel, propose to do. Here 
are Moses and Aaron united in counsel and in labour, for the 
common good. Here is the true American union, of which 
no Christian, and no patriot can ever be ashamed. It is the 
glory and safety of our country. It is an union which gives 
its money, gives its time, gives its influence ; and strives, in 
its daily prayers, to raise up good Christians and good minis- 
ters — good citizens and good rulers. It is such an union 
as was witnessed when Aaron and Hur held up the hands of 
Moses in the battle. An union of intelligence, public 
spirit, and deep moral principle, in all the members of the 
community, which effectually secures a conscientious obe- 
dience to the laws. That sort of union which makes 
every patriot a Christian, and every Christian a patriot. 
That union, in fine, which exists where all the members of 
a great family " love one another with a pure heart, fer- 
vently." 

This, I hardly need to say, is the only union of religion 
and civil government which the friends of Sabbath-schools 
desire, or would consent to. For this they " long, for this 
they pray." And may such an union of hearts and minds, 
in all that can promote the public welfare, be speedily con- 
summated by the universal prevalence of true religion. May 
the essential principles of the Bible be thus graven on every 
youthful heart, and may its life-giving spirit so thoroughly 
pervade all our institutions, as to animate them with a sound 
and enduring vitality. 

But to this end, parents, teachers, ministers, churches, 
b 2 



18 



THE WAY TO BLESS AND 



and all who either love God, or their country, have a great 
work to do. While the American Sunday School Union must 
rely supremely upon Heaven for support and success, subordi- 
nately it " lives, and moves, and has its being" in the favour 
of the people ; especially of the pious, benevolent, and in- 
fluential classes.' To such, then, let me earnestly appeal on 
the present occasion. And, 

First, to parents of every communion, and every rank in 
society. Consider your responsibleness, and accept the aid 
whieh is proffered you, in the religious education of your 
children. Sabbath-schools can nowhere exist, but by your 
permission and countenance. For whom do so many teach- 
ers and superintendants ask the privilege of toiling, and 
often under great bodily exhaustion, from Sabbath to Sab- 
bath, and year to year? Is it for themselves, or for you and 
those whom God hath given you ? And will you not bid 
them God speed — will you not help them? For whom did 
Christ die ? Was it not for your children, and will you not 
bring them to him in the Sabbath-school, that he may there 
take them up in his arms and bless them, as he has blessed 
thousands of others? 

But here let me earnestly caution you against devolving the 
whole business of religious education upon others, as if their 
readiness to assist you could ever excuse you from the duties 
of catechizing and other family instruction. I greatly fear, 
that even many Christian parents are in fault here; and I do 
know, that some devoted teachers have almost doubted, on 
this account, whether their labours were of much use. 

Now, such neglect on your part, is most ungrateful to God 
and to them. It is discouraging, it is cruel ! It is as if you 
should requite an overflowing benevolence, in offering to aid 
you in feeding and clothing your children, by just throwing 
off the whole burden from your own hands. And do not 
imagine that you have done all your duty, when you have 
secured the religious education of your own children. As it 



SAVE OUR COUNTRY. 



19 



respects other families, the only questions are, Do they need 
your assistance, and is it in your power to help them? How 
many are there, who cannot, or will not, decently clothe 
their children, and furnish them with the necessary books; 
and how comes it that you can purchase hundreds of the 
most interesting little volumes for your own children, at one 
quarter of the price which they used to cost ? Could you have 
done it if the Sunday School Union had never been formed? 
And, can you not afford in your turn to help the Union ? Is 
it not a debt which you are solemnly bound to discharge? 

To those of you, my friends, who give your time and 
thoughts to this great work, as su^erintendants and teachers, 
much more might be said, by way of encouragement, exhorta- 
tion, and advice, than the time will permit. Where then 
shall I begin? Shall I speak of duty as the constraining mo- 
tive to action and perseverance ? The theme before us, no 
doubt, is fruitful of such arguments and appeals, beyond 
almost any other. But the word duty is too cold — it has too 
little heart for such an enterprise as that in which you are 
engaged. It is a word which I am persuaded cannot be 
found in the vocabulary of heaven, and the sooner we can 
make it obsolete on earth the better. How strangely would 
it sound, to say that the angels serve God day and night in 
his upper temple, because they think it their duty to serve 
him! And surely it is high time, for the church at least, to 
emigrate from the polar circles of Christianity, and move 
nearer to the sun. To love God, and Christ, and the souls 
of men, is a very different thing from being convinced that 
it is our duty to love them. So to teach and pray in the 
Sabbath-school, under the constraining influence of love, is 
heaven-wide from any emotion which a mere sense of duty 
can excite. 

Need I undertake to show you what a privilege it is, to be 
a Sabbath-school teacher, and would be to the greatest man 
in the world. 



20 



THE WAT TO BLESS AND 



Suppose, then, for a moment, that you could summon 
around you every Lord's day, some of the most prosperous 
and influential men of business — some of the most devoted 
and useful preachers of the gospel — some of the ablest advo- 
cates and judges, and some of the most distinguished legis- 
lators of our country ? Suppose you could do this as easily 
as you can now call your classes together, and could open 
the Bible before them, and impress its great truths upon 
their hearts and consciences, and give a permanent shape to 
their whole character l Would you not esteem it an honour 
and a privilege ? And could you possibly exert so mighty 
an influence in any other way ? 

Well then, what are the facts in the case ? Have you not 
actually before you, every Sabbath, some of the future minis- 
ters of the church, and rulers of the country ? Some of the 
great merchants and bankers, jurists, legislators, and physi- 
cians of the next forty years ? That little boy, who now 
listens to you with so much interest, and whose heart and 
intellect you are helping to fashion, will one day preach the 
everlasting gospel to the Hindoos, or the Chinese. And that 
other lad whom you found in a cellar, and allured to your 
school-room, will, in your own lifetime, be at the head of 
business in your city. Among those whose characters you 
are forming, on the eternal basis of Scriptural truth, one may 
be a Howard, another a Marty n ; one a Whitfield, and an- 
other a Robert Hall, or Jonathan Edwards. That little 
child, now at the head of his class, may become another 
Franklin, or he may hereafter sit upon the bench of the Su- 
preme Court, or he may one day be President of the United 
States ! 

What an influence ! What an advantage, to have the first 
training of the young idea, and to direct the moral power of a 
great nation ! The thought is prodigious. And yet it simply 
represents the actual prerogative of Sabbath-school teachers, 
wherever the system of the American - Sunday School Union 



SAVE OUR COUNTRY* 



21 



shall be carried into full and complete effect. Nor is your in- 
fluence as teachers at an end ; nor has it produced its grand- 
est results when it is seen, not only in all the common walks 
of life, but in the high places of society — holding the awful 
balances of justice ; wielding the powers of argument and 
persuasion ; presiding over all the civil rights and institu- 
tions of a great people ; and shining in the golden candle- 
sticks of the church. It is your higher privilege to assist in 
training up your classes " for glory, and honour, and immor- 
tality — in making them kings and priests unto God and the 
Lamb." What power to do good ! What honour conferred 
upon every faithful teacher, and need I add, what amazing 
responsibility, is here ! 

Ministers of Christ I heard ye that voice, in the hour of 
your consecration, " Feed my lambs ?" How much the pros- 
perity of this glorious cause depends upon your faithfulness, 
upon your influence. To say that it cannot go on " unto 
perfection" without you, is almost to say, that if it fails, or 
languishes, you must answer for it. On you it devolves, to 
teach the teachers, as well as the children of your respective 
charges — to counsel and encourage them in their arduous 
duties — to visit your congregations, and persuade them, 
if possible, to send every child to the Sabbath-school, as 
soon as it is capable of receiving religious instruction, and 
to exercise a general supervision over this blessed system 
of benevolence. 

While the control of the American Sunday School Union, 
in all its vast operations, is very properly placed exclusively in 
the hands of laymen, they expect, they ask, I might almost say, 
they implore, your zealous and powerful co-operation. Surely, 
my beloved brethren, you will not disappoint them. You will 
not stand aloof from so glorious an enterprize. As your 
humble representative, I venture to pledge for you. 'Ti3 done. 
Methinks the pledge is already taken down by the recording 
angel. Does any one object to the record ? Let him say so. 



22 THE WAY TO BLESS AND 

and ere it is dry, let him send up his petition that his name 
may be blotted out of the book ! 

When you look over the immense field which is to be ex- 
plored and occupied by the American Sunday School Union, 
and behold what wide regions of moral desolation there are in 
our country, I am sure, dear brethren, you will not think it 
enough to watch over the young of your own flocks, and to 
see that they are fed " with the sincere milk of the word, 
that they may grow thereby." You will also look after the 
sheep which are scattered over those vast regions, where 
there are no " green pastures and no still waters." Like the 
good Shepherd, you will " gather the lambs with your arms, 
and carry them in your bosoms." You will not rest till a fold is 
prepared, or, in other words, till a Sabbath-school is opened 
in every place of tents, throughout all the hundred wilder- 
nesses within our national borders. And as vhis great, this 
simple, this magnificent system of religious education ex- 
tends its cheering influence, and "the desert blossoms as a 
rose," and you eagerly press on from every quarter, till you 
meet in the midst of one immense garden of the Lord, oh 
then, how loud, and how joyful will your shouting be, " Grace, 
grace unto it !" 

Men of wealth — men of talent and influence — ye honoured 
civil fathers of the republic, my next appeal is to you. The 
managers of this glorious Union want all the aid you can give 
them, in extending the circle of its blessings. They thank 
you for what you have already done, and they ask you still 
to help them train up those rising millions, who are so soon 
to govern this great nation according to their pleasure — 
who will either keep the gallant ship in deep and peaceful 
waters, or dash her in pieces amid the foaming breakers. 

Will you allow me to say, that there never was a more de- 
lusive, a more baseless vision, than that which has dazzled 
even some great minds, respecting the means and agents 
upon which the preservation of our liberties essentially de- 



SAVE OUR COUNTRY. 



23 



pends. Every thing is to be accomplished, as they seem to 
suppose, by the combined influence of popular education and 
free constitutions of civil government. Their theory is, that 
as we are now in possession of the freest and best institu- 
tions in the world, we have only to keep the people enlight- 
ened in regard to their political and religious rights — only to 
educate them well, in the common acceptation of the term, 
and all will be safe. Now this is a radical mistake. It is 
vainly undertaking to erect and support a magnificent edifice 
without a solid foundation. All the light and knowledge in 
the universe would not make a nation secure and happy, with- 
out the deep and broad basis of moral and religious principle. 
I hazard nothing in saying, that the Bible contains the only 
code of laws, or rather the elements of the only code, which 
can sustain our free government, or any other like it. All 
history and experience might confidently be adduced in sup- 
port of this position. It is only by teaching the rising gene- 
ration to " fear God and keep his commandments," that we 
can induce them to " obey magistrates" — to " lead quiet and 
peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty," and thus to 
maintain the great pillars of the state. By warmly patron- 
izing Sabbath-schools, therefore, by visiting them often, and 
by aspiring to the honour of becoming teachers in these hea- 
ven-founded seminaries, you can do more to undergird the 
ship, and keep her on in the right course, than when you 
heave the lead, raise the quadrant, or stand at the helm. 

But I must draw to a close. The time which I had a right 
to detain you is more than elapsed. And now, ye favoured 
managers of this great and blessed Union ! Ye parents, 
teachers, ministers, churches, friends of revivals, patriots, 
rulers, and judges of the land — under the smiles of heaven, 
the success of this cause depends upon your prayers and 
your efforts. You are all deeply, and may I not add, equally, 
interested in its success. By helping it forward, you ad- 
vance the interest " of pure and undefiled religion" — you 



£4 THE WAY TO BLESS, &C. 

promote the happiness and true glory of the nation — you 
honour God and bless the world. 

Go on then, I beseech you, from duty to duty — from moun- 
tain to mountain — from river to river. Be strong in the 
Lord, and in the power of his might. Never rest till the 
noble work is done — till a Sabbath-school is established 
wherever there are children to enjoy its blessings. Never 
rest till you hear the shout of " Hosanna to the son of David." 
from all the Atlantic coast — from the shores of the Lakes 
and the tops of the Alleghanies, and then from the multitudes 
on multitudes^ in the great valley of decision ! 



THE E> T D. 



